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Opinion: Filing deadline today in yet another election

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You have until 5 p.m. today to file nomination papers if you want to run to fill the 26th District state Senate vacancy left by Mark Ridley-Thomas when he was elected county supervisor on Nov. 4.

The special election to succeed Ridley-Thomas takes place March 24, pursuant to timelines set forth in the state Elections Code. It’s a good time to call for a little flexibility to be built into the code, which could have allowed the election to be consolidated with the March 3 Los Angeles city elections or the May 19 city runoff.

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There actually will be a May 19 runoff for this seat, if no candidate wins a majority in March.

Ridley-Thomas endorsed Assemblyman Curren Price of Inglewood. You know the rest. If Price is elected, there will have to be yet another special election to replace him.

The Democrats in Sacramento need Ridley-Thomas’ seat to be filled with another Democrat ASAP. There are 23 Dems in the state Senate, but because of the two-thirds rule for passing a budget, they need 27. When Ridley-Thomas left for the Board of Supervisors, he left the Democrats needing to peel off four Republicans instead of just three.

* Photo of Mark Ridley-Thomas by U.S. Presswire

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